Author: Elan

Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, founder and CEO of Flutterwave** For the best experience, download the free Africa Private Equity News app Android | iOS **Africa-focused payments company Flutterwave today announced an investment from Circle Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Circle Internet Group.This investment supports Flutterwave’s effort to embed USDC settlement directly into the payment flows businesses already use today. Merchants can collect locally and settle in USDC, reducing delays and costs while enabling near-instant settlement beyond traditional banking hours.It is Flutterwave’s strategy to position stablecoins as financial infrastructure to provide reliable and fast settlements in Africa. Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, founder…

The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room expresses serious concern over recent media reports of the scandal regarding the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) also described as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the appointment of Prince Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew as Director-General of the purported federal agency. The scandal involves allegations of forged appointments, the operation of an alleged non-existent federal agency, claims of influence peddling, budgetary allocations and serious accusations of corruption involving senior public officials. While the authenticity of these claims and the circumstances surrounding them remain matters for competent authorities to establish, the controversy raises fundamental…

Catalyst Fund has increased commitments for its African climate technology fund to $30 million, moving closer to its $40 million fundraising target. The venture capital firm plans to expand its portfolio from 28 to about 40 startups across Africa. New investors include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Shell Foundation, Trafigura Foundation, Speedinvest, and We-Fi. Pan-African venture capital firm Catalyst Fund has raised its total commitments to $30 million after closing a second fundraising round, bringing it closer to its $40 million target for investing in African startups developing climate adaptation solutions. The fund announced the milestone on Thursday, saying the new capital will…

Bikita Minerals has invested a cumulative US$383 million in mineral beneficiation projects as it expands value addition at its operations with the government describing the development as a key milestone in Zimbabwe’s drive to maximise returns from its mineral wealth. The investment was highlighted during a visit by the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Zhemu Soda to Bikita Minerals recently. The visit marked the first stop of a media tour of high-impact development projects in Masvingo Province. Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines Dr Soda said the mining company was demonstrating how beneficiation…

A reported Coinbase announcement about a World Cup result, likely using AI, created a problem bigger than a flawed alert. It showed how quickly exchange-run prediction markets can blur the line between tradable outcomes and unverified automated content inside the same consumer app.The episode surfaced on July 5, when a user posting as jay_drainjr said on X that Coinbase had sent a breaking-news-style alert claiming Norway had won a World Cup game, with Erling Haaland scoring, before the match had been played.Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong replied later that day, saying he was looking into it with the team.Coinbase has not published…

Commission is the single most contested number in ride-hailing. It is the line item drivers see every day, and the one that quietly decides whether the work is worth doing. PairRide has chosen to compete on exactly that number, launching with a 7% commission it describes as among the lowest available in Nigeria. To see why that is provocative, look at the spread. Established platforms in the Nigerian market have historically taken commissions of around 20% or more per trip. A cut to 7% is not a tweak; it is close to a different business model. PairRide’s framing is as…

Samsung Galaxy phones, like all other Android phones, come with a regular one-handed mode. It works, but it only goes so far. While it can help you use your phone with one hand, it’s fairly limited and doesn’t offer any extra features. But Samsung also offers an advanced one-handed mode for its phones, although you have to go out of your way to access it. It’s called One Hand Operation+, and it can be a proper game-changer for how you use your Galaxy phone, as long as you stick with it and go through the learning process, which can be…

US striker Folarin Balogun celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between USA and Bosnia and Herzegovina. © Jamie Squire/Getty Images/AFPAMERICA/Getty Images via AFP Published on July 06, 2026 at 17:57 pm (GMT +1) US President Donald Trump has spent years warning that birthright citizenship, guaranteed by the US Constitution, is being abused by foreigners. Then the football World Cup handed him one of the greatest ironies of his presidency.With the US facing Belgium in a make-or-break round-of-16 clash on 7 July, Folarin Balogun – the striker carrying America’s hopes – appeared to be…

Listen to this article Tokyo is redefining its engagement with Africa, transitioning from traditional aid-based approaches to strategic venture capital (VC) investments focused on long-term partnerships, innovation and capacity building. Several Japanese private companies are making Japan’s presence felt in Africa’s VC landscape, particularly in high-growth sectors such as fintech, climate tech and mobility. Growing demand for innovative, technology-driven solutions in Africa has drawn increasing interest from international investors. VC funding in Africa rose from over US$2 billion in 2019 to a peak of US$5.2 billion in 2022. Though investment declined to around US$3.6 billion in 2023, the continent’s start-up…

Standard Bank backs Adenia Partners in strategic pan-African financial services acquisition operating across nine countries and driving financial inclusion – African Business Standard Bank backs Adenia Partners in strategic pan-African financial services acquisition operating across nine countries and driving financial inclusion – African Business